


Just so Hungry

by joyful_soul_collector



Category: Marvel, Spider-Man (Comicverse), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort/Angst, Domestic Fluff, Emotional Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Food Issues, Gen, Good Peter, Hurt, Hurt Peter, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Irondad, Light Angst, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker is a Mess, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Starvation, Tony Feels, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, enhanced metabolism, hunger, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-28
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:27:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21902245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joyful_soul_collector/pseuds/joyful_soul_collector
Summary: Peter doesn't eat all day and Tony is a protective dad. Also there's a cat.This is just better version of another story I've published on here under the same title. I'm not deleting that version so if you wanna go find it for some reason go ahead. But this one is better.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 26
Kudos: 245





	1. Patrol

The cool night air whipped my face as I swung through the streets of New York, looking for some sort of crime to stop. It was a strangely quiet night, and I hadn’t been able to find many people to help, which of course is a good thing, less crime and all that, but it does make for a pretty boring night. I swung up onto a building and spoke into my mask, giving a deep sigh. 

“Hey Karen?”

“Yes Peter?” she said sweetly.

“Can you access the security cameras and see if there’s anything? There’s gotta be something I’m missing. You don’t go a night here without _something_ happening.”

“Of course. There’s a mugging going on about two blocks from here.”

“God _finally_ \--I mean oh no! How terrible, better go save that person probably.” 

I swung between the buildings until I spotted a dimly lit alleyway. I could barely see the outline of two people wrestling on the concrete, and I heard a high pitched shriek of a woman coming from that direction.

I landed with a thump on the ground and quickly pulled the two apart.

“Hey!--What the--” said a gruff man’s voice as I held him above the ground with my right hand. My Spidey Sense went off and I ducked as he took a swing at my head, his fist clutching a knife.

“Oooh, you almost got me there! You shouldn’t play with knives, someone could get hurt!” I dropped him, then kicked him hard in the chest and saw the knife go flying out of his hand. I quickly webbed him upside down to a streetlight, and wrote a note for the police. I know they love my notes. 

I turned around to make sure the woman I’d saved was alright, but it seems she bolted. I hate when they do that.

“‘Thanks Spider-Man!’ Hey no problem random lady! I totally could’ve just let you be mugged, but I didn’t, ‘cuz I’m nice like that,” I said with a sigh. _I know it’s not exactly humble to hope for thanks, but it’d be nice every once in a while,_ I thought as I started to climb the nearest building.

“I think you’re pretty great Peter,” Karen said, startling me so much I almost lost my grip on the building.

“GAH--Oh, thanks Karen.”

“But I do think you should get home. It’s almost four am.”

“Four am!? Shit, I have school tomorrow!” I said. 

“You also didn’t eat any dinner Peter. Do you want me to order something for you?” Karen said.

“No, no, I can’t just order food at four am, what store would even be open at this hour? ...Actually IHOP would be open right now…” My mind filled with pictures of fluffy, perfectly browned pancakes stacked a foot high high on a plate, drenched in creamy, salty butter and thick, sweet syrup, with surrounding plates piled with crunchy bacon and scrambled eggs. My stomach grumbled quietly, as though asking as politely as it could if it might have some of the delicious food in my head. But I shook my head to clear it of the appetizing images. No point torturing myself over something I can’t have. 

“I can’t. I don’t have any money, Aunt May only gives me enough for lunch and a sandwich at Mr. Delmar’s,” I told Karen. 

“That’s not enough food to keep up with your enhanced metabolism Peter,” Karen said.

“Well yeah, but I have food other than that too. The Decathlon always has snacks at meetings, I just didn’t eat them today because the meeting was cancelled. And of course I usually have dinner, but I missed it cuz I was on patrol,” I said. 

Karen again insisted I eat something. She’s such a mom sometimes. 

“Look, I _promise_ I’ll eat tomorrow,” I said, climbing up my apartment building. “I’ll wake up early and have a bigger breakfast, and I’ll use my money for Mr. Delmar’s to get extra lunch. And I have a meeting with Mr. Stark to update my suit tomorrow, and he always has food so I’ll eat then too, _and_ I’ll have dinner with Aunt May. You don’t have to worry about me Karen.”

“That’s only one day Peter, you haven’t been eating enough _already_. Why not tell your Aunt--”

“I’m _not_ doing that. She’s already stressed out as it is, I’m not giving her the stress of Spider-Man,” I snapped at Karen. She didn’t say anything else until we got home, reminding me to wake up early to make a good breakfast tomorrow. But I barely heard her as I flopped down on my bed and fell into a deep sleep.


	2. I Promise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for school

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEE--_

I slapped my hand across my alarm clock, and peered at it, my eyes still groggy with sleep. 

Seven o’clock. 

_Seven o’clock?! Shit! School starts in an hour!_

I scrambled around my room, getting dressed with my suit on under my clothes and gathering up all my school stuff, all this with the covers still tangled in my legs and eventually making me fall over with a loud thud. Aunt May called up to my room at the sound of my fall.

“You okay babe?”

“Uh, yep!” I called back, scrambling up again. I grabbed my mask from the depths of my closet and shoved it deep into my backpack, hiding it underneath all the books, then grabbed Karen’s earpiece and put it in my ear. It was nice being able to talk to her at any time of the day, she could always update me on any big crimes going on, in case I had to leave school. Though today she started out sounding a little angry. 

“You didn’t wake up early Peter,” she said, and if she had a body I imagine she would be crossing her arms. 

“I know, I know, I’m sorry, I was just so tired, I must’ve slept through all my alarms,” I said, putting on my coat. I heard her sigh, and then her voice softened. 

“Just try to have a little something before school. Your blood sugar is getting a little low,” Karen said. 

“I will, I promise,” I said. 

I went downstairs and found Aunt May waiting for me in the kitchen, holding a couple pieces of toast.

“Where were you last night?” she asked with a smile. 

“Uh--Stark Internship! We started a new project, so it’s um, really busy,” I said hurriedly, as I got on my shoes.

“Oh, well did they at least give you dinner? I don’t want you going hungry baby.”

“Yep,” I lied. Now I was really regretting not waking up to make a big breakfast. Aunt May’s toast looked _so good_. That perfectly toasted bread with butter spread on top and melted from the heat, and the sweet, slightly tangy jam it was all coated with made my stomach clench with hunger. And at that moment my belly gurgled just loud enough for Aunt May to hear, still politely asking for something to digest, but maybe a little more insistently this time. Heat crept into my face as I said, “Uh, still pretty hungry though.”

“Good thing I made breakfast for you then. You were out so late, I thought I’d let you sleep in,” she said as she handed me the toast, and kissed me on the cheek. I almost sagged in relief, but held my composure as she pressed some money in my hand. “Here’s your money for lunch and Mr. Delmar’s. You better go catch the subway, wouldn’t want you to be late.”

“Thanks Aunt May! I larb you!” I called out the door, shoving the money into my pocket. 

“I larb you too hun!”

I stepped outside and started to quickly walk down to the subway station, taking a bite of toast as I went. Oh god, so good. My stomach growled as I swallowed the bite down, clearly _begging_ for more. I suppose I haven’t really eaten in sixteen hours, if my math is right. No wonder my stomach is freaking out. 

But just as I rounded a corner, a familiar stray came out of the alleyway to my right. It was a skinny grey cat that I’d named Dart after the Demodog from Stranger Things. His face was a little twisted and deformed, so that from a distance, he looked a lot like a small Demodog. I usually brought him something to eat on my way to school, but in my haste I’d completely forgotten. 

“Sorry Dart, I don’t have anything for you today,” I said to him sadly. He looked back up at me with big amber eyes, meowing pitifully. I looked from him, to my toast, then back to him. 

“…Fine. I guess you need it more than I do, I doubt you wanna eat trash.” I threw my toast into the alleyway for him and he bounded after it happily.

“Peter--”

“Karen, don’t. He probably hasn’t eaten all weekend the poor thing, and I don’t want him to starve. I can last a while longer,” I said. 

When Karen didn’t say anything else, I knew she was mad at me. Mr. Stark made her super realistic, I’m starting to feel guilty.

“Karen, I promised I would eat today--”

“And you _haven’t_ ,” she interrupted. “You haven’t eaten a single thing. You haven’t eaten since four yesterday, that’s way too long for you, that’s way too long for _anyone._ ”

“I’m not _anyone_ , I’m Spider-Man, so I'm stronger than just _anyone--_ ”

“You’re not invincible Peter!”

“Yeah no shit, Invincible can fly and he’s a comic book character--”

“Peter!”

“ _Fine_ , fine, I promise I’ll eat the first chance I get. Which will probably be lunchtime,” I huffed. 

“Thank you,” she said. 

I walked a few more blocks and reached the subway just in time. A while later I was walking up the steps to my school. Flash shoved me into the lockers as usual, sneered at me about how I would be dead at lunch (which if I had a dollar for every time he said that, I would be richer than Mr. Stark), and then I met up with Ned beside my locker. We talked until it was a few minutes before class started, and the hallways were getting more and more empty.

“Which Avenger is better, Black Widow, or Scarlet Witch?” Ned asked.

“Neither, _I’m_ the best Avenger,” I answered sarcastically. “But seriously, I think they’re both--” My stomach cut me off with an ear splitting rumble. I guess it was beyond politely asking now, more like demanding angrily. The hallway was almost completely empty (kind of like my stomach), and I swear the sound practically echoed. Ned and I both looked down at my middle, and I could feel heat crawling up into my face again. I curled my arm around my belly, trying to silence it under my elbow.

“You okay Pete?” Ned asked, his voice filled with concern. I looked up at him, and gave him a goofy smile.

“Yeah, I just didn’t have breakfast, I gave my toast to Dart.”

“The cat by your apartment? But don’t you have like a crazy metabolism now?”

“Well yeah, but it’s fine--Wait how do you know that? I don’t remember saying that.” I shoved my backpack into my locker, and we started walking towards class. 

“Well, I remember that day when you stopped wearing glasses, and accidentally broke that desk. I’m guessing that was around the time you got your powers, right? Well, you were also eating a ton too, more than you usually did. And when I found out how you were Spider-Man, I just put two and two together.”

“Jeez, I’m surprised more people haven’t figured it out,” I said, rubbing my stomach absentmindedly, trying to get it to calm down. It was starting to hurt now, like it was twisting itself in a knot.

“It’s ‘cuz you let people like Flash beat you up,” Ned said easily. “Everyone thinks Spider-Man would never let anyone hurt him. You’re so committed to keeping this a secret. If it were me, everyone would know within about two seconds.” 

He glanced down at the arm rubbing my belly, which I dropped quickly. 

“Are you sure you’re okay? You look a little pale--”

“I’m fine! I’m fine, just a little hungry, I’m fine, I promise,” I said quickly. 

Ned was just about to argue when the bell rang, and I ducked into my class before he could say anything else.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Christmas Eve everyone! The next chapter should be up tomorrow or the next day!


	3. I'm Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Peter is totally, 100% fine

After a couple classes it was time for lunch.  _ Finally _ . During the last class my stomach was growling so much the kid next to me actually asked if I was alright. And we’ve never spoken before. 

So yeah, not doing so hot. 

But it was lunchtime now, and I could feel my belly doing backflips in joy, though the rest of me was shaking and sweaty, almost nauseous. But it’s  _ fine _ , it’s lunchtime, I can get food now, I’m  _ fine _ . 

Someone said that it was mac n cheese day. Though everyone already knew that because we could smell it from our classrooms. School lunches kinda suck but mac n cheese was definitely the least awful of the options, often actually tasting pretty good. The cheese was creamy and stringy, and the pasta had a nice bite to it, and everything was just a little bit too salty but no one cared much about that. Or at least  _ I _ didn’t, and I didn’t pay attention to anyone who did. I was mainly focused on getting to lunch so my belly would quit bothering me. It was  _ really _ starting to hurt now.

However, as I made my way down to the cafeteria, my Spidey Sense pinged, and I was suddenly jerked back by the handle of my backpack. 

_ You have got to be kidding me. _

“What’s up Penis Parker?” Flash’s voice said way too loudly in my ear.

“Just trying to get to lunch, Flash,” I said dully. I thought maybe he’d let me go this one time. He seems to attack me randomly, there’s no pattern to when he feels like beating me up, so there’s no way I can avoid it. This is bullshit. 

Flash whipped me around to face him, and then pushed me so my backpack slammed into lockers. My books dug painfully into my back as he leaned his arms on my chest.

“Give me your money, Penis.”

“I don’t have any,” I lied. But Flash twisted me around again and shoved my face into the locker, searching my pockets and eventually finding the money I’d put in there this morning. I usually shove it deep in my backpack, right next to my mask, so he can’t find it, but I forgot to do it this morning.  _ Man I’m forgetting a lot of things today _ .

“Thanks Penis Parker, you’re a real superhero.”

Flash left, and I turned to watch him disappear around the corner to the cafeteria.

I sighed shakily, and my stomach gave a pitiful rumble, sounding defeated. Now I didn’t have anything for dinner, breakfast,  _ or _ lunch. I could feel my eyes starting to burn. 

“Peter? Are you okay?” Karen’s voice said into my ear. 

“No, I’m not. Karen, tell me where the nearest crime is,” I said, going to locker, ripping my backpack out of it and slamming it shut again. 

“Peter I can’t do that--”

“Fine! I’ll go find it myself!” I said, sprinting outside and going to a secluded area to change. 

“Peter please don’t, you’re going to hurt yourself, please just go back inside, tell someone what happened--”

“No! I just need to get outside for a second!” I snapped. I shoved my clothes into my backpack and shot a web to the nearest building. 

Soon I was swinging high above the city, cringing at the fact there were tears soaking into my mask. The world was getting more and more blurry with each web I shot. 

“Peter, your bloodsugar is getting dangerously low, you need to stop!” I heard Karen say. But she was so far away, it felt like she was talking to me from behind a pillow. And this backpack was getting so heavy, same with my arms and legs. Why is everything always so heavy? Something wrong with the Earth’s gravitational pull?

“I’m fine,” I muttered, swinging as high I as I possibly could and letting go. 

But quite suddenly, I didn’t feel heavy anymore. 

In fact, I didn’t feel anything. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas everyone!


	4. He just fell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short one, this time from Tony's POV!

“Tony!” said a panicked voice in my ear. Peter’s AI. Did she override Friday?

“Karen?” I said, stopping in my tracks. I’d been on my way to the lab to get ready for Peter and I to add some updates to his suit. 

“Tony! You need to come get Peter right now! He’s going to get himself hurt, he won’t listen to me!” Karen said in a rather more panicked voice than what I would’ve thought possible for her. I guess I programmed her better than I thought. 

“I’m coming!” I said. I ran to where I kept my suits and stepped into one. Before I knew it, I was flying through the sky. 

“Karen where is he?!”

“I think he’s heading for the Empire State Building!” she said. It took all of thirty seconds to get there. 

And I saw him. He was swinging between buildings, but not with the energy and excitement he usually did. Something was clearly wrong. Peter suddenly swung high into the air, letting go as though he were going to do a flip. But he didn’t. 

He just fell.

“PETER!” I shouted, flying as fast as I could to him. Images of Rhodey plummeting towards the earth filled my mind as he fell. I can’t let his fall this time, I can’t watch someone else go through that kind of pain again, I can’t fail to save another person. 

“Friday, put everything you’ve got into the repulsors!”

“Already done boss!”

_ I can catch him, I can catch him, I can do it this time, I’m so close-- _


	5. It's Okay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title explains it all

I was only out for two seconds. I woke up when my back slammed into metal. 

Iron Man. Mr. Stark. 

“Mr. Stark?”

“Kid, you have a lot of explaining to do, but I’m gonna set you down first,” he said, his voice a little distorted behind the mask. 

It took me a moment to realize we were heading to Stark Tower. When he landed, he set me down gently on a couch then stepped out of his suit. 

“Alright kid. Talk to me. What’s wrong?”

I turned red and looked down at my toes. 

God, why did I have to look so pitiful? I guess I felt like that. I felt weak and vulnerable and I hated it. I hated it when Flash pushed me around and made me feel worthless, I hated that Mr. Stark had to come save me like I was a weak puppy, I hated that I couldn’t seem to do the one thing that made me feel strong. I hated it even more when my stomach growled and my eyes started to burn again. 

“Can… Can I have some food? Please?” I asked, finally voicing what my stomach had been asking all day long. 

“Oh kid, is _that_ all? You’re hungry?”

I ducked my head lower and cursed quietly as tears started falling into my lap. 

“Peter? Woah hey, what’s wrong?”

“Peter hasn’t eaten in almost twenty-four hours, sir,” came Karen’s voice through the room, making me jump. “His bloodsugar is dangerously low, he needs to eat _immediately_.”

“You _what_ \--oh kid, okay, it’s going to be okay, just wait there, I’ll get you something to eat,” he said, hurrying to another room. 

“Thank you,” I whispered as he left. 

There was a moment of silence before Karen spoke again.

“I told Tony to come get you as soon as you ran out of the building,” she said, only this time she spoke into my earpiece instead of to the room. Her voice was gentle and soft.

“Thanks,” I said. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”

“It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize right now, all you need to do is eat.”

“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “Okay.”

Mr. Stark came back holding something in his hand. A protein bar. 

Normally I wouldn’t be very excited, as protein bars tended to taste like cardboard, but at this point just about anything looked delicious, and I had to close my mouth to keep from drooling. 

“Eat,” he said, putting the bar in my hand. 

My hands shook as I tried to open it, the wrapping slipping in my fingers as I got increasingly more frustrated. I started to hyperventilate as more tears spilled down my face and the wrapper still wouldn’t give and my stomach hurt _so much_ and suddenly I was sobbing, sobbing like a baby, right in front of Mr. Stark. 

“It’s okay kid, it’s okay,” Mr. Stark said, taking the bar from me and unwrapping it easily. He handed it back and I started to devour it, chewing it once, twice, and swallowing it down only to tear off another large bite. I think it was chocolate flavored, but I don’t really know. 

“I’ll be right back kiddo, I’m going to go get you more food, something that’ll fill you up better than that, yeah?”

I only nodded, my mouth full of the protein bar and my chest too tight to speak. I couldn’t seem to stop crying. I didn’t understand why I wasn’t starting to feel better. The bar felt like a rock in my stomach; even though I could feel the food, I felt no relief, I still felt shaky and sick and tired. 

And quite suddenly the bar was gone, and I was left alone with rocks in my belly and the wrapper I never actually got open myself. I started shredding it in my fingers while I waited for Mr. Stark to come back. 

“Feel any better Peter?” Karen asked in my ear. 

“Not really,” I said, my voice trembling as tears coursed down my face. “I wish Flash hadn’t taken my money. I wish he’d stop kicking me around.”

“I know. I’m sorry he hurts you. I wish I could help,” Karen said. 

“It’s okay,” I said with a sniff, starting to regain my composure. Talking seemed to help. “I had to deal with him long before you and Mr. Stark came along, long before I got powers even. He’s been doing this kind of thing for years. It used to be worse. He beat me up pretty bad one time, got suspended for like a week. I got five stitches on my nose. You can barely see it now but I have a scar,” I said, running a finger along the faint divot on the bridge of my nose. 

I almost said more, but the smell of soup stopped me in my tracks. 

Mr. Stark came around the corner holding a deep bowl full of broccoli-cheese soup, and my stomach rumbled low and loud, like a starving monster in an empty, echoing cave. Mr. Stark gave me a sympathetic smile before setting it on the coffee table for me. 

I almost went to grab it and hold it in my lap, but then I remembered how shaky I was and decided sitting on the floor in front of the table was a better idea. Lower chance I would spill it all over Mr. Stark’s fancy couch. 

Mr. Stark sat across from me as I started to eat again, shoveling large spoonfuls into my mouth and barely noticing the taste. I know it was creamy though, and the broccoli was soft. This time the food felt a lot better in my belly, actually filling me up, making me feel solid and warm. I breathed a trembling sigh of relief after a few spoonfuls of soup, finally feeling a little okay again. As I scrubbed the tears from my eyes I realized my stomach had quieted down, happy I was finally giving it something to digest.

“Pete? Could you tell me what happened? Why haven’t you eaten in so long?” Mr. Stark asked gently. 

I didn’t answer for a few seconds, still eating large spoonfuls of soup. 

“I just… couldn’t. Things kept getting in the way. Yesterday I was out patrolling till four in the morning so I missed dinner, and I hadn’t eaten since… well four in the _afternoon_ when I had a sandwich from Mr. Delmar’s. But I meant to wake up this morning and have a big breakfast, only I was so tired I slept through all my alarms. Aunt May did make me a little toast, but then I saw Dart and I’d forgotten to bring him something today and he probably hadn’t eaten all weekend so I gave him my toast ‘cuz I don’t want him to starve ya know--”

“Hang on, hang on. Who’s Dart?” Mr. Stark asked.

“He’s the cat that lives in an alleyway by my apartment. I feed him every morning on the way to school, and sometimes I’ll give him a bite of my sandwich from Mr. Delmar’s.”

Mr. Stark sighed and put his head in his hands, resting his elbows on the table. 

“Pete, you can’t do this to yourself,” he said quietly. But despite his soft tone I felt anger flare in my chest. 

“Well I didn’t _mean_ to be out so late, or to forget to bring something for Dart, _or_ for Flash to steal my money--”

“Wait, what?”

“I said I didn’t mean to--”

“No, no, someone stole your money?”

I froze. I didn’t mean to say that. I stared at Mr. Stark for a moment before answering. 

“…Yeah,” I said, looking back down at my soup and taking a bite. I didn’t say anything else. 

“You’re going to have to give me a lot more than ‘yeah’, kid,” he said. 

“…There’s this guy named Flash at school. And um, he likes to… hit me. And take my money and steal my backpack and beat me up. I usually hide my money but I forgot to this morning and um… Well he took it right before lunch.”

Mr. Stark looked at me with an oddly morose expression, as though someone had said something particularly horrible to him.

“Why do you let him do that to you? Why don’t you defend yourself? You’re _starving_ , kid. And you’re a superhero! I’ve seen you holding two halves of a boat together, you could totally take on that, that _Flash_ kid.”

“Yeah, _I_ could, but Peter Parker _can’t_ ,” I said taking another bite of soup.

“…I don’t follow.”

“It’s different for you, you’re an _out_ superhero, everyone knows you’re Iron Man. Only MJ, Ned, and you, know I’m Spider-Man. Peter Parker, before I got powers, couldn’t fight off the bullies or play sports or do much of anything really. If I suddenly start being able to do things I couldn’t before, then everyone is going to put two and two together and then all the bad guys are gonna know who to hurt in order to get to me. I’m not a billionaire like you, Mr. Stark. I can’t just put my family under surveillance and hire bodyguards to protect them.” 

I realised how cold it was getting with the sun starting to set (stupid short winter days), so I grabbed my hoodie out of my backpack and pulled over my suit, snuggling into the soft fabric. So funny how little things like fluffy sweaters feel so much better on a happy stomach. 

“Okay. I understand what you’re saying,” Mr. Stark said after I’d pulled the hoodie over my head. “But… there’s a difference between going all superhero and just defending yourself. How many times has he does this to you?” He laid a hand on my arm. I looked down at it before meeting his eyes again.

“I--Um, only a--a few times…” 

Mr. Stark raised his eyebrows. 

“Okay, a lot of times but I mean I learned to hide my money so he doesn’t get as many opportunities to steal it anymore so…”

Mr. Stark sighed. 

“While I was getting you some soup, Karen told me you haven’t been eating enough even before this incident. Is he the reason for that?”

“…Partly. But Karen also thinks I should be eating more at mealtimes, more breakfast, more dinner, more everything. She’s a bit of a mom sometimes.”

“But is Karen right? Should you be eating more? Are you not keeping up with your metabolism?”

I thought for a moment, thinking back on how many times I’ve complained about being hungry, about feeling ravenous only an hour after lunch (when I actually got to eat it), about how many times I’ve gone to bed with my stomach rumbling. 

“I guess not. I didn’t _mean_ to. I just… I didn’t want to inconvenience anyone. Aunt May is already worried about the bills now, if I told her I needed more food she might have to work more hours and she’s already working so much and she won’t let me get a job because she wants me to focus on school and the internship--”

“She’s right, you should. You’re too smart not to be entirely focused on school, and of course your thrilling heroics. Which is why I’m going to start paying you. Been meaning to get the paperwork together for that anyway,” Mr. Stark said. 

“Wait, what? What for?”

“Well on paper, it’s for being an intern at Stark Industries. But really, it’s for being a hero. Can’t have our friendly neighborhood Spider-Man going hungry can we?” he said with a smile.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again, unsure of what to say. 

“But,” Mr. Stark went on, his smile disappearing, “I can’t control what happens at school. I can give you more money than you know what to do with, but I can’t help you when it comes to Flash. You _need_ to eat at school. Which means you can’t let Flash beat you up anymore.”

I looked away, unsure of what I was feeling. I was happy, because Mr. Stark was going to pay me and now I could get all the sandwiches from Mr. Delmar’s I wanted, and I could help with the bills too. But then again I was also worried about standing up to Flash. He’s been bullying me my whole life, at this point it feels weird to think of standing up to him. Mr. Stark lifted his hand and put it under my chin, coaxing me to look back at him. 

“Pete, please promise me that you won’t let him make you go hungry anymore.” 

I guess it clicked just then. I knew I couldn’t let Mr. Stark down. 

“I promise,” I said. Then I looked past Mr. Stark and around the room. “And for real this time Karen.”

“Good,” Karen said into the room. “And of course, you know I’ll always be here to help you.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem Peter.”

I looked down at my bowl to get another bite of soup, my hunger not quite satisfied, but there was none left. I must’ve had a disappointed look on my face because Mr. Stark laughed. 

“Still hungry Spider-Boy?”

“It’s Spider- _Man_. And yeah, kinda,” I said with a yawn. “A little tired too. I should go home soon.”

“Nope, no web-swinging until you’re full and rested. Tell Aunt Hottie you got held up at the internship and I offered to let you stay for the night. You can call her while I make you some pasta or something. And pick a show to watch too, I’m in the mood for something to binge-watch.”

“Batman The Animated Series it is,” I said, grabbing the remote and flicking on the tv. 

“I thought you said that was an easy-going show, back when I said I was in the mood for something easy-going,” Mr. Stark said, raising his eyebrows. 

“Batman is an any kind of mood show Mr. Stark. Batman fulfills the needs of any and all moods, that’s why it’s the best. Same with Avatar: The Last Airbender and Steven Universe and Star vs the Forces of Evil and Adventure Time. They’re all multi-mood shows.”

“I think you’re just listing cartoons.” 

“Well you’re not wrong.”

We watched Batman together for hours while I ate until I was so warm and full I was starting to fall asleep on Mr. Stark’s shoulder.

He looked down at me as my head drooped. “You feelin’ better kid? You look better at least.”

“Yeah. Thanks Mr. Stark,” I mumbled. Then everything went blissfully dark as I fell asleep.

I’m fine. Now that he’s here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next and final chapter will be from Tony's POV!


	6. What makes you feel strong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony POV! Here comes that cat again

“Thanks Mr. Stark,” Peter mumbled. His head drooped against my shoulder as he fell asleep.

I looked down at him with a smile. I gently rested him on his side, his head burrowing into a soft pillow on the couch. He looked so much better now. No longer hungry and miserable. I’ll have to make sure he eats regularly so this doesn’t happen again.

I looked around the room, my eyes casting over the city in the windows. Why hadn’t he eaten breakfast again? Oh right, he gave it to the cat.

“So you gave up your breakfast to help the cat, huh?” I whispered in his direction. I walked into the elevator and said, “Hey Friday, would you get my suit ready? And ask Karen to show me what this cat looks like.”

“Yes sir.”

In a few moments I was flying through the sky, searching the ground for the kid’s apartment building.

“Sir, Karen sent me a video of Peter’s interaction with the feline,” Friday said.

“Perfect, play it.” 

I watched in the corner of my screen as Peter rounded a corner with a piece of toast in his hand. It had barely a bite taken out of it. I watched as he talked to the cat, which he called Dart, and then threw his toast to him in the alleyway.

God. This kid is too nice. He’s gonna get himself hurt if he keeps doing shit like this.  _ Well, I guess he already did get himself hurt, _ I thought.

I finally spotted Peter’s apartment building and circled to land on it. I looked down and found the corner he must’ve turned around in the video, and from there it wasn’t hard to see the little alleyway.

I flew down, and stepped out of my suit, beginning to search through the garbage. 

“Hey Friday? Could you search the alleyway for heat signatures?”

“Yes sir. There’s one behind the dumpster on your right. It’s actually moving towards you.”

I turned to my right to see a little grey head peek out from behind the dumpster. The kid was right, it did look a bit like a Demodog. He bounded towards me and rubbed his face on my ankles.

“This cat is either really friendly or really stupid. No wonder the kid likes him,” I said, picking up the cat and stroking his head. “Friday, would you please send a car? I’m gonna drive--What did he call him?”

“Dart, sir.”

“Right, Dart. I’m gonna drive Dart home. I’ve been needing a pet for the lab, and Peter will be happy to know Dart’s okay.”

“Yes sir, right away. The car is almost here.”

When the car arrived I settled Dart into the passenger seat, where he stretched up to look out the window. As we drove, the cat watched the street lamps flickering by, and his tail flicked excitedly whenever he spotted my suit flying overhead.

Upon arriving at the lab, the kitty jumped out of my arms, running to Peter’s leftovers. 

“Heh, you’re almost as hungry as Pete was.” Dart ate the remains of the kid’s pasta before jumping back down from the table, licking his jowls. He looked around for a moment, then saw Peter, still sleeping soundly on the sofa. Dart leaped up and curled up under the kid’s arm, nuzzling himself into his chest. 

I smiled down at the two, before whispering to Karen. 

“Hey Karen?”

“Yes sir?” her voice said into my earpiece. 

“Could you bring up the Baby Monitor protocol and run today’s surveillance? I’d like to see the times he interacted with a boy named Flash.”

“Of course sir. Running facial recognition tech now.” A couple seconds later a video hologram popped out of the desk. I clicked play, and watched as Peter walked up to the school building.

I watched as Flash walked up to him and I winced slightly as he grabbed Peter by the shirt and whispered: “You’re dead at lunch Penis Parker, you’re gonna wish you weren’t born.” Peter seemed to freeze for a second, and I could see his stress levels spike slightly, but it seems as though he wasn’t actually afraid. He just twisted away from Flash and made his way to his friend Ned, whom I’d met once before. The video then cut to Peter walking down the hallway, until he was suddenly jerked back by someone, whom I assume to be Flash. I watched as Flash shoved Peter around and eventually took his money.

Peter’s little sigh and the sound of his stomach pleading for food after watching Flash walk away with his money made my heart break. The video went on a moment longer for me to see Peter grab his backpack and burst through the doors of his school. I looked at the timestamp and realized this was the same time Karen sent me a message to come get him. This poor fucking kid. 

“Karen, what do you think of all this?” I asked. Karen actually took a moment to think before answering. I swear, she’s more intuitive than Friday. 

“I think Peter is scared. He’s terrified of those he loves getting hurt, including you. Maybe even me. So he doesn’t ask for help,” she said. “And I think saving people make him feel strong, especially when he often feels weak. When his money was stolen he felt extremely powerless and weak, so he went to go do something that made him feel strong. Saving people.”

I nodded, then sighed and sat down in a chair, staring at the flickering image of the video.

“I can’t let this kind of thing happen again Karen. He’s just a kid. And he… God he was just so _ hungry _ . Did you see the way he was crying? The way he looked at me when I unwrapped a fucking protein bar for him? Hear how his stomach growled when I brought him soup? You’d think he hadn’t eaten in days. He was  _ starving _ .”

“I know. I wish I were able to help him sooner,” Karen said. 

“Me too,” I said. “I wish I’d been there sooner.”

“I think things will be much better for him now. I’ve been trying to get him to tell you or his Aunt May that he needs extra food, but I’m afraid until now he’s felt too nervous. But now that you know what he needs, I have no doubt in my mind that Peter will never go hungry again,” Karen said.

“Thanks Karen. You really care about him, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do,” she said. 

“That’s good. It’s nice to know he’s not completely alone while fighting the villains of this world,” I said. I dismissed Karen a moment later. 

_ He’s so scared of the people he cares about getting hurt, that he doesn’t care if he gets hurt himself, _ I thought as the video winked out.  _ He just takes all of it. All of the pain and hurt, and then he goes out and saves people. That’s one power you can’t get from a spider bite. _

I turned towards him, gazing at his softly sleeping form, Dart curled under his arm. I laid down on the couch across from him, not wanting to leave him alone. 

He’ll be fine. Now that I’m here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it! Let me know what you liked about it! I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it


End file.
